THE GLIMPSE OF FUTURE THAT EXHAUSTED MANY PRESENTS

-A BLOG BY SATYAM KUMAR

2000 A.D.

Beginning of the new millennium.

But it found itself in the darkest pages of the history as it became the year when the 1^st recorded suicide due to internet happened. That individual was from japan, one of the most developed country at the time. Till that time, internet was already widely considered as ‘THE FUTURE’ with the whole world wanting a piece of that pie.

After that, the whole world has been turned upside down due to the increase in no. of suicides because of internet so many times that now-a-days, we are almost immune to it. But a question still occurs,” what causes so many presents to be lost due to the future?” well, I am here with some reasons and its solutions.

1^st, let’s talk about the reason. Nearly 1 million suicide deaths occur every year worldwide and one of the primary reasons is the new sensation of the world- social media. In a research conducted on internet with the word suicide, 373 web sites were hit, out of which 31% were suicide neutral, 29% were anti-suicide and 11% were pro-suicide. Remaining either didn’t load or were movie references. Multiple regression analysis indicated that the prevalence of internet use was independently associated with general population suicide rates in men (p=0.001) and approached statistical significance for women(p=0.074). Scary figures, right?

And if you are one of those who think cyberbullying is the only reason of suicide, then you can’t be more wrong. In japan in 2008, 220 peoples attempted suicide via hydrogen sulphide gas of which 208 died. It was blamed on the introduction of gas related method on message boards via internet. Many family members, doctors were also injured or died because of toxin while saving the victims. A recent study of 719 individuals aged between 14 to 24 years, 79% reported being exposed to suicide related content through family, friends or newspapers and 59% found these contents through internet. In USA, a man in his 30’s committed suicide by overdosing a pharmacy which he ordered online and it didn’t require prescription.

Now-a-days, online gaming is also emerging as one of the biggest causes of suicide. Just a few days back, my friend’s cousin committed suicide when his father prevented him from playing PUBG, one of the biggest gaming platforms around the world. At that time, I thought,” How can a game be bigger than life?”. A study disclosed that 7% of gamers show suicidal behaviour. Gaming is also creating a boundary between gamer and his family members, thus completing isolating him. Thus, when he needs his close ones near, he finds himself alone and this isolation forces him to take that big step.

But how to prevent all these? There are few steps that you can take:

1. Report the articles when you come across them.

2. While feeling stress, tell your family members.

3. Always have a high self-esteem. Remember YOU MATTER.

You may say, FEAR makes them do it. For me, FEAR has two meanings. If you have suicidal thoughts, YOUR FEAR is FORGET EVERYTHING AND RUN(FEAR), but if you still believe in yourself, believe that nothing in this world can put you down for long and if you believe that What Doesn’t Kill You, Makes You Stronger, then YOUR FEAR is FIGHT EVERYTHING AND RISE(FEAR).

Always remember, you must stay strong. Because if you think yourself as a failure, then no one can save you. In the end all that matters is YOU.